Caliber choice

[Window]

Trying to put myself in your position, is rather hard as I'm 69 and becoming recoil sensitive. And yet I'm shooting/sighting in my friends 30-06...and surviving. He also has a 300 Weatherby Magnum to sight in, but not by me!

LR involves a lot of shooting to be good at it, which means the caliber has to be fun/enjoyable to shoot...AND...somewhat economical as well. I would ask myself, what caliber do the LR professionals shoot? I don't know any pro LR shooters per sie, but I do follow Erik Cortina, who is. He shoots a 6.5 x 47 Lapua. This recoil will allow you plenty of enjoyable, economical shooting while developing an accurate load. Here are some steps I would do if I was going LR:

1)...pick a known accurate caliber (a 6.5x47 Lapua might do nicely), that's economical in a rifle package you can carry in the woods, since hunting is your major goal, not bench rest shooting per sie, but you'll do plenty of this along the way.
2)...pick your elk killing bullet...NOW...your focus should be getting your rifle, scope, bullet, powder, brass, & primer to shoot as one.
2)...DO NOT SKIMP on a scope! Rule of thumb...a $1500 rifle deserves a $1500 scope. You can't hit what you can't see.
3)...upgrade your minimal knowledge of reloading to just the particular caliber you'll be shooting...it will take the rest of your life to learn the rest of reloading.
4)...DO NOT SKIMP on your bench rest shooting platform. Your focus should be getting your rifle/load to shoot as one. Eliminate as much of 'you' as possible when developing your shooting groups, so when you miss that elk at 800 yards, it won't the rifle/load's fault.
5)...focus shooting at 100 yards...PRACTICE-PRACTICE-PRACTICE...until you can shoot out the eye of a woodchuck at 100 yards. (Because if you can't, you'll be useless at 1000 yards.)
6)...move to a 200 yard range, focusing on shooting 1/4" MOA groups (1/2" groups at this point).
7)...never move to the next 100 yard range until you've mastered the previous one. Jumping from a 100 yard range to a 500 yard range will bring in many problems that would have been eliminated by going through each 100 yard step systematically. (In other words, it doesn't pay to cheat!) Besides, moving through the 100 yard steps helps the learning needed for the bullet drop/windage adjustments.
, 8)...so you've reached the 1000 yard target...CONGRADULATIONS...you should be shooting 2.50" groups at 1000 yards...MAYBE...there's many variables between muzzle/1000 yards...BUT...if you can do 2.50" consistently, skip elk hunting, go PRO!

I know some of this is common knowledge, and can be ignored. But if I mentioned something that did tripped a trigger, then this was worth it!

Above all...make it a fun & enjoyable adventure!

Excellent advice!

 

[ayers21]

Wow, I did open quite a can of worms and I'm glad I did. Glad I joined this forum as I just received some seriously good information from all angles. Appreciate it greatly. I am gonna get a good scope today I believe and hone my skills with what I've got. I've got a buddy with all the reloading components for the wsm that he is going to sell me and another buddy with a great reloading setup to help me get loads developed. I'd say more than anything I learned to just be patient and take it one step at a time. Thanks to all.

 

[436]

Not really a big issue

I only mention it because you have to... "bring game.. to get game" as they say, paper at long range is no problem'..., light, high BC bullets with lighter recoiling cartridges, they work just fine, but.. tipping-over something like a large bull at long-range takes a little bit of horsepower to do it right, which mean heavier recoil and some folks just have a tougher time with that, and of course what does long-range mean to you, 400-500, 800 or 1000 yards everyone has a different idea as to what long-range really means. So as for the question of caliber; just bring enough gun for the animal your hunting, perhaps something like 1500 FPE at the distance you consider "your" long-range. Good luck in your future hunts.

 

[jpfrog]

Wow, I did open quite a can of worms and I'm glad I did. Glad I joined this forum as I just received some seriously good information from all angles. Appreciate it greatly. I am gonna get a good scope today I believe and hone my skills with what I've got. I've got a buddy with all the reloading components for the wsm that he is going to sell me and another buddy with a great reloading setup to help me get loads developed. I'd say more than anything I learned to just be patient and take it one step at a time. Thanks to all.

This sounds like a solid plan. There's a lot you can do with what you already have (and the help of your friends), and becoming well versed on how to make loads for that rifle, and also make modifications to that rifle (if desired), will probably teach you more about LR than you'll realize over the next 6 months to a year.

 

[264 Win Mag Man]

This sounds like a solid plan. There's a lot you can do with what you already have (and the help of your friends), and becoming well versed on how to make loads for that rifle, and also make modifications to that rifle (if desired), will probably teach you more about LR than you'll realize over the next 6 months to a year.

You should look at 264 Win Mag. Not bad recoil, shoots flat and can take Elk at a good range with a good shooter.

 

[gbett308]

You should look at 264 Win Mag. Not bad recoil, shoots flat and can take Elk at a good range with a good shooter.

What range and what bullets are you killing elk with that 264?

264 win mag for elk?

Just like the title says is it a good choice. I know there are better bigger options but this is my rifle I am most familiar with.

www.longrangehunting.com

 

[ayers21]

I only mention it because you have to... "bring game.. to get game" as they say, paper at long range is no problem'..., light, high BC bullets with lighter recoiling cartridges, they work just fine, but.. tipping-over something like a large bull at long-range takes a little bit of horsepower to do it right, which mean heavier recoil and some folks just have a tougher time with that, and of course what does long-range mean to you, 400-500, 800 or 1000 yards everyone has a different idea as to what long-range really means. So as for the question of caliber; just bring enough gun for the animal your hunting, perhaps something like 1500 FPE at the distance you consider "your" long-range. Good luck in your future hunts.

Thank you.

 

[ayers21]

This sounds like a solid plan. There's a lot you can do with what you already have (and the help of your friends), and becoming well versed on how to make loads for that rifle, and also make modifications to that rifle (if desired), will probably teach you more about LR than you'll realize over the next 6 months to a year.

Absolutely, thanks man.

 

[264 Win Mag Man]

What range and what bullets are you killing elk with that 264?

264 win mag for elk?

Just like the title says is it a good choice. I know there are better bigger options but this is my rifle I am most familiar with.

www.longrangehunting.com

500 + yards 140gr.

 

[436]

Thank you.

You are welcome my friend, hope it works out and you find a real game hammer. Cheers

 

[ayers21]

You are welcome my friend, hope it works out and you find a real game hammer. Cheers

Just purchased the Sig Tango 4 6-24 in MOA today. Seemed like a good option to throw on my current gun to get started, we'll see how it works out. Thanks everyone.

 

[Bill28]

New to the LR game, what is the best Long range caliber for hunting elk for a guy just getting into long range and with very minimal knowledge on reloading?

28 Nosler, the factory Nosler 175 ABLR's are good. When you start hand loading there's many options.

 

[Paladin300]

Since you have already demonstrated that you are a proficient shooter and you already own a 300 wsm and elk beyond 400 is the intended target: I would suggest a RUM of some flavor, either 300 or 338. 300 PRC would be great as well. If you want to stay with a short action and since you already own a wsm why not 7mm wsm or a 6.5 PRC. My personal favorites which I own or have owned and really enjoy are 338 RUM or Edge and 6.5x284 Norma.

The 338 RUM carries enough energy to kill the largest game in North America beyond a 1000 yards with authority and can be loaded in a standard length action. Factory ammo is available and with a wyatt's box can be hand loaded to really nice velocities by seating the bullets out and increasing powder capacity. It is the ballistic twin of the Lapua up to 300 grain bullets +\- 50 FPS.

If you are wanting to go light and short the 7mm wsm, 6.5 PRC, or the new 6.8 western might be your best bet. I would not go shorter than 20" on the barrel and would recommend 24". I am running 27"barrels on both of my LRH rigs. JMO. Good luck!

 

[Paladin300]

If you stay with your present 300 wsm you could simply upgrade the stock (HS precision/KRG $399), thread the barrel 5/8x24 (depending on the smith $40 to $150), add a break (APA gen2 LB $160), upgrade the optic (Athlon Midas Tac 5-25 or other , this is just an example but for the money and purpose would be a good choice, $850 plus rings, $100 MDT) , add a bi-pod (Harris S-bmr 6-9 $99) and Cerakote the barreled action ($150-250). I think you would have a pretty nice set up.